Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the support of additional services for subscribers of a communication network, such as a fixed network or a mobile radio telephone network, through the use of an intelligent network with service control points.
Communication networks, for example fixed networks or mobile radio telephone networks constructed in the fashion of the known GSM mobile radio telephone network (global system for mobile communications), include switching equipment networked with another. Respective base stations, with whose assistance communication terminals can be connected via an air interface, are connected to the switching equipment in the mobile radio telephone network. In the fixed network, the communication terminal equipment is connected to the switching equipment via lines. The communication terminal equipment thus enables a subscriber to have network access independently of the network type. The switching equipment, over and above this, can effect a transition to further networks, for example data transmission networks, fixed networks or mobile radio telephone networks. In the GSM mobile radio telephone network, memory units wherein, among other things, subscriber-specific data for network-proper services are stored, are employed. One of these memory units is the home register that is usually located at a permanently defined location wherein the data underlying the registration of the subscriber is deposited. Dependent on the momentary location of the mobile subscriber, at least one further memory unit-the visitor register-is responsible. Dependent on the location of the mobile subscriber, the responsibility of determining which memory unit, having specific data stored for this subscriber, is to surface can change via the subscriber.
It is well known to support additional services for the subscribers of a communication network either a fixed network or mobile radio telephone network, by the structure of an intelligent network with service control points. These service control points and the profiles of the additional services deposited therein, including the information needed for their implementation can be modified independently of the respective communication network. The services useable in an intelligent network are thereby initiated in a service switching point in order to effect a departure from the standard call processing and activate the access to the additional services. One of such services is that of making one or more announcements available to the subscriber of the communication network. This is achieved in that the announcement is initiated by a service switching point and is implemented by an announcement unit connected thereto (intelligent peripheral). The selection of the announcement occurs with a service control point via an INAP signaling (intelligent network application part). What is disadvantageous about the method is that all announcements must be pre-defined in the announcement unit; i.e., the announcements proceeding must be previously registered and loaded into the announcement unit. This procedure is inflexible with respect to offering and producing new announcements, since these must be registered xe2x80x9cofflinexe2x80x9d and stored in the announcement unit before use thereof is possible. Over and above this, an announcement identification, for example with an announcement telephone number, must be offered and signaled for the selection of the respective announcement. The corresponding announcement identifications are to be declared between the service control point and service switching point in order to be able to use the new announcements.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,535 discloses a method and arrangement for billing call connections upon utilization of the equipment of an intelligent network. The mobile subscriber of a mobile radiotelephone network thereby has a credit account whose current line of credit is compared to a prescribable minimum threshold given a call by the subscriber. The implementation of the call connection only occurs when the credit line lies above this threshold. By involving the equipment of the intelligent network, the appertaining INAP protocol (Intelligent Network Application Protocol) can be applied instead of the MAP protocol (Mobile Application Protocol).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,594,789 discloses a multimedia communication system with equipment of an intelligent network whereof an intelligent system means includes a speech recognition unit as well as a speech verification unit. The multimedia system utilizes the speech recognition and speech verification for connection control and, in particular, for the implementation of a transaction, whereby the service control point includes a specific database for the identification of a speech sample which a subscriber inputs into a terminal or into a telephone for authentification purposes. When the comparison of the speech sample to an entry stored in the database yields identity, the transaction is implemented. xe2x80x9cThe CAMEL feature, proposed revisions to the stage 1 descriptionxe2x80x9d of ETSI/STC/SMG1, Mar. 14, 1995, GSM 02.78, Version 0.4.0, pages 1 through 14, discloses a CAMEL (customized application for mobile network enhanced logic) platform with which the support of additional vendor-specific services should be enabled for subscribers, for example, even when they are residing abroad. An operator-specific, additional service thus can be used beyond network and service boundaries of a communication network. This is the case when the service switching unit initiating the additional service can process the required CAP signaling (CAMEL application part) for the requested service and when signaling information from and to the home register and to the service control unit of the additional service can be exchanged beyond the network boundaries. What this means for the announcement is that, when a mobile subscriber resides in a network other than the home network, the announcements of all other networks must be known there and must be unambiguously identifiable. This incurs a high handshaking outlay that must occur across network boundaries and that is relatively. A solution via xe2x80x9creroutingxe2x80x9d from the network in which the subscriber resides to his home network in order to set up the announcement there would lead to an additional occupation of lines and, thus, would require additional transmission resources.
The present invention is therefore directed to an optimally flexible method and a corresponding communication network for offering announcements for the subscribers.
The inventive method for offering announcements therefore provides that one or more announcement texts are established in a service control point. A message initiated on the basis of a call by a subscriber, wherein information about the supportability of announcements by an announcement unit are contained, is received and interpreted by the service control point. Given the support of an announcement by an announcement unit, a message in which the announcement text is contained is sent from the service control point to the announcement unit. The announcement unit converts the received announcement text into an announcement that is then transmitted to the calling subscriber on a voice channel.
The advantage of the inventive method is that only the announcement texts are introduced in a service control pointxe2x80x94that is usually arranged at a center locationxe2x80x94and the announcements themselves are set up by the announcement units by converting the received announcement texts. The central storing of announcement texts avoids a complicated handshaking of the announcements between service control point and service switching point or respectively, announcement unit via a corresponding signaling. Further, it enables a fast and flexible adaptation of announcement unit via a corresponding signaling and enables a fast and flexible adaptation of announcements to new services and service expansions. The enhanced flexibility leads to cost-savings since the announcement units no longer are to be reloaded given every change or addition of an announcement. The offering of the announcements also occurs independent of location without the announcements having to be previously pre-defined in the respective announcement units. The outlay for introducing new announcements is, thus, substantially reduced. Offering the announcements according to the CAMEL platform for a xe2x80x9croamingxe2x80x9d subscriber beyond network boundaries is significantly simpler due to the inventive procedurexe2x80x94less outlay for signaling and line occupancy. The announcements are made available to the subscriber on site both in his own network as well as in an outside network, for example, abroad, by simply converting the received announcement texts. The advantage for him is that the announcements are recorded in a language he can understand, preferably in his native language.
The inventive method can be applied to fixed networks as well as mobile radio telephone networks given that the announcement is played for the calling subscriber via a voice channel controlled by a service control point and supported by an announcement unit. Another advantage of the inventive method is that one is able to transmit the information about the supportability of announcements and the announcement text or texts in messages that are part of the IANP or, respectively, CAP signaling. This means that no outlay for additional lines or signaling messages is required for the inventive method.
The communication network according to the present invention is characterized in that one or more announcement texts are established in the service control point. A message initiated due to a call of the subscriber, wherein information about the supportability of announcements by an announcement unit are contained, is received and evaluated by the service control point. When an announcement is supported by an announcement unit, a message wherein the announcement text is contained is sent from the service control point to the announcement unit. The announcement unit converts a received announcement text into an announcement that is then transmitted to the calling subscriber on a voice channel.
A service control point for supporting the present invention includes means for storing one or more announcement texts as well as means for storing and evaluating a message initiated on the basis of a call of the subscriber wherein information about the supportability of announcements by an announcement unit are contained. Over and above this, the service switching point is provided with means for transmitting a message wherein the announcement text is transmitted to an announcement unit supporting the announcement, the received announcement text being converted into an announcement by the latter, this announcement then being transmitted to the calling subscriber on a voice channel via a service switching point.
A service switching point for supporting of the present invention includes means for the reception of the message wherein the announcement text is contained and further includes means for transmitting the announcement text to an announcement unit that supports the announcement. The received announcement text is then converted by the announcement unit into an announcement that is transmitted to the calling subscriber on a voice channel via a service switching point.
An announcement unit for supporting the present invention includes means for the reception of the message wherein an announcement text is contained and further includes means for converting the announcement text into an announcement that is then transmitted to the calling subscriber on a voice channel via a service switching point.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention are described in, and will be apparent from, the Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments and the Drawing.